Artist Gisele Haselbarth

Gisele Haselbarth imbues her art with sensuous, rolling waves of light and color. Long revered for her abstract paintings, this contemporary artist draws inspiration from the ocean outside her Ft. Lauderdale home, and its influence is immediate yet strikingly original. Bold compositions introduce themselves as conceptual pieces, that is, until they beckon the viewer into a life splashing with colorful sailing, salt water and the powerful, roaring sea.

Galleries from Miami to Palm Beach have long treasured Haselbarth’s unique imagining of South Florida life, but no one expected her next dramatic artistic turn. After years as a painter, the artist has found another vital mode of expression: digital photography. Her abstract photographic pieces reveal her singular vision, somehow transformed from one medium to another. Her compositions remain true to her love for the awesome power of rolling, unbroken waves of beauty. It is fascinating evidence of an artist’s uninterrupted signature as it moves from canvas to film.

Memorial Service for Gisele Haselbarth
The Community Church Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL

Scripture – Proverbs 3:1-6

My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

This is the Word of God

Thanks be to God

Homily

This afternoon we gather to say goodbye to Gisele, who lived an extraordinary life. In the light of such loss, our eyes may shed some tears, and our hearts break – yet, we are grateful for her 86 years of life among us and know that she lives again in the presence of God.

Each of us here is grateful in our own way for the years we were privileged to share with her.

Gisele was by nature a gifted artist. She was able to set her eye on the horizon and, with the gift of perspective for the immediate and the distant, she was able to offer a glimpse of truth and beauty in all that she painted.

For her to put thoughts and visions on canvas, she had to trust what she knew, what she had learned over the years and put her trust in the Lord for the beauty of God’s creation which God put at her fingertips.

The last two verses of the scripture say, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

The first command in verse 5 is to trust God. Verse 5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.”

The root of the Hebrew word, “trust” is the idea of lying hopelessly on the ground. It’s a submission. I believe this is what biblical “trust” is all about. We as humans are called to cast ourselves into the merciful arms of God. We are called to submit to God’s leading and God’s calling.

Every time Gisele picked up a paintbrush or her camera, she began with a clean canvas or empty screen. She had to put her trust in herself and in God. God gave her all the tools, all the inspiration and all the ability to create her beautiful abstract paintings and photographs.

The second part of verse 5 says, “we are to trust the Lord “with all (our) heart.” For the Hebrews, the word “heart” speaks of much more than a muscle within the body that keeps the blood flowing through our body.

In this setting, the word “heart” refers to our spiritual person — it refers to our intellect, our will, and our emotions. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord will all of our heart.

So when God calls us to trust Him with all of our heart, God is calling for us to totally “trust” with every fiber of our being. It calls for our unwavering obedience, our absolute dependence and complete confidence in Him. As one commentator said, “(This is), a summons to the faithful to live faith-full lives.”

Gisele was an artist whose pursuit of beauty led her to capture in color and brushstroke the beauty of the world around her in an abstract form.

She loved to paint from her home her in Lauderdale by the Sea, and with easel, paint, and brushes as her companions, she sought to capture a place that had a sense of sacredness, a landscape that was a delight to an artist’s longing eye.

Gisele was an artist who boldly dipped a brush into her soul and then painted her own nature onto the canvas. What she presented to us through her art was a glimpse into how she saw the world – a world of sacred light, color, and beauty.

Something else we have to remember. Gisele was more than just an artist. Her ability to see the world through different lens reflected her love for her family and friends.

Gisele was a people person. She loved to learn, loved to travel and meet people. She truly lived life to its fullest

Every life is meant to reflect the glory of God, the wonder of life, and the mystery of love.

Today we honor her life by being here in this church. Gisele was a gifted artist who was given to us as a gift by that First Artist, the God, who created all of us.

We now return her to the care of the God who made her, grateful for the years we shared with her; rejoicing in the love we received from her. Gisele was a treasure, and she treasured each one of you.

For each of us here this afternoon, there are different memorials for Gisele Haselbarth, reminders of her life and how each person had connections with her.

For many of us, these memorials include works of art that Gisela produced. For others, the connections are family members or friends.

Gisele was an artist. Some may own, or at least have seen, her works of art that she produced. Evidence of her artistry is available many places around the globe.

But today I would have us consider her artistic achievement in a bigger way than that, for it seems clear to me that Gisela was also an artist in her own life.

What does it mean to be an artist in your own life? It means we take the materials God has made available to us—our days and years, relationships, the beauty of nature, opportunities to travel around the world–and you make something out of them, something that has its own integrity and truth, a creation that others can appreciate and be enriched by.

I came across something that Gisela wrote about herself. She wrote, “My Paintings are much closer to music than to words! My art, at its best, is a continuous process of self-discovery. Exploring new facets and possibilities are the result of my personal aesthetic of looking, questioning, and deliberation.”

She will remain an artist, but in a place where hope gives way to vision, and beauty knows no ending.

Each person here has known Gisele in a different way. A diamond shimmers in the light because of its many facets.

You are the facets of her life. At this time, we would like for some of you to share just a few words or a story that shows the beauty of Gisele’s life.